The cost of streaming the States

Saturday 27 August 2016

The contract to stream live pictures of Jersey’s States sittings has been awarded to a UK firm.

Five companies expressed an interest in the project and three eventually submitted tenders.

The winner was Hove-based Public-i Group Limited. The five-year contract – including equipment, installation, ongoing support, microsite, training and 400 hours of content a year – is worth £85,325.

There will be three fixed high definition Sony cameras installed in the Chamber, and a back-up camera.

The drive to install cameras came from Privileges and Procedures – a group of politicians whose job is it to regulate and promote States’ business.

In its report sent to all members prior to last year’s debate the committee said: “In the 21st Century, it is no longer acceptable to expect those interested in following the proceedings [of the States] to do so through an audio-feed only. PPC considers that if members are serious about the need to re-engage with the public and to appeal to younger members of society, it is necessary to accept the additional cost of filming.”

In its report the committee also noted that as well as complaining about the cost of installing camera cynics might argue that their installation might “encourage some members to speak more frequently or to ‘play’ to an outside audience rather than fellow members.” But went on to say: “Similar concerns were expressed in Jersey in the mid-1980s when the radio was first allowed to broadcast the proceedings of the Assembly, and in other parliaments such as the House of Commons, when cameras were first introduced but, in both cases, any potential disadvantages were greatly outweighed by the benefits of opening up legislatures to a wider audience. Although in theory some members may initially change their behaviour when cameras are introduced, PPC trusts that members will act in a responsible way and, in practice, members will almost certainly become oblivious to the cameras after a very short while.”

Recordings of the live streams will be online for six months after the sittings so it’ll be possible for viewers to catch-up or re-watch any sessions they might want to see.